Sonic Labs is set to announce the public launch of its layer-1 blockchain, Sonic, shortly after reaching an important milestone with the completion of its Genesis block, marking the initial set of transactions on the chain. The company shared its excitement on social media, highlighting the achievement and ongoing infrastructure deployment.
Designed to be a high-speed blockchain that is compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine, Sonic aims to attract innovators by providing significant incentives and robust infrastructure. It is being positioned as the successor to the Fantom Opera network, adopting the Sonic branding to improve performance by minimizing latency and lowering transaction fees.
The approach toward a public launch was further accelerated by the recent introduction of an upgraded testing network known as “Blaze,” which was unveiled just before the Genesis announcement. As part of its preparations, Sonic completed a significant “Snapshot” for an airdrop of “S” tokens on December 2. A total of approximately 200 million S tokens, which can be exchanged for Fantom tokens on a 1:1 basis, are set for distribution. These tokens were earnable through various arcade games offered by Sonic, but the games have now concluded as the platform gears up for the mainnet launch.
Operating on a proof-of-stake mechanism, Sonic allows holders of S tokens to stake their assets. The blockchain has reported impressive transaction finality times of 720 milliseconds during testing, positioning it as a strong contender among the fastest EVM chains in the market today.
The focus also extends to supporting developers, with 90% of the network’s generated transaction fees earmarked for them. Sonic has received backing from the Fantom Foundation, which has pledged a substantial allocation to facilitate the transition for developers migrating projects from Fantom to Sonic. In addition, the Sonic Foundation was established to oversee governance and foster a vibrant decentralized finance ecosystem around the new blockchain.
